By Azer Parrocha/PNA
MANILA — Malacañang on Wednesday reiterated that President Rodrigo R. Duterte was only asserting his stand that the Commission on Audit (COA) should avoid derailing government projects after the Chief Executive’s joke about kidnapping and torturing the agency’s personnel.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this remark after the President, in a speech on Tuesday, criticized the COA anew for the bureaucratic processes which delay government projects.
“Puro yan pahirapan. Yan ang ayaw ko — ang pahirapan (All it does is make things difficult. That’s what I don’t want — making things difficult),” Duterte said in a speech during the Barangay Summit on Peace and Order in Pasay City.
Panelo said that this was only the President’s way of “chiding” the COA which made things difficult for government to carry out its projects.
“PRRD is chiding COA not to derail on going government projects by certain stringent protocols that go against the letter and intent of the law,” Panelo said in a message to reporters.
Panelo explained that it was obvious that the President’s remark about kidnapping and torturing COA personnel was a joke.
“Masyado namang obvious na nagpapatawa lang yun (It’s too obvious that the President was only joking) regarding the COA,” Panelo said.
Panelo, meanwhile, said that the more detractors criticized his manner of speaking, the more the President was likely “to stick to his mischief and irreverence.”
Last December, Duterte asked the COA to avoid making decisions that cause “gridlocks” in government projects, noting that the country needs more investments.
Duterte urged COA to “invent” decisions that allow projects and investments to come in the country.
“Instead of rendering an opinion that blocks the project, why don’t you just invent if you have to? Find the words to allow the investments here because we need the money,” Duterte said.
Panelo clarified that what Duterte meant by “invent” was evaluating whether the agency’s decision to block projects are within what the law prescribes.
He said he did not know which particular project Duterte was referring to but emphasized that there may be a need to change certain regulations that instead of helping “may restrict and scare away investments.”
